The breakneck pace of development in Santa Cruz County seems to be slowing, as evidenced by a number of recent announcements and/or local news stories.
The most significant news, as reported by Santa Cruz Local, is that the developer has pulled out of the big mixed-use project proposed along Ocean Street. A partner in the project has already bought up all of the small parcels that will be combined, and most of the structures slated for demolition have already been vacated. Until a new path forward is found, that long-neglected block will continue to molder.
On the Westside, an approved proposal for a multi-residential project at 850 Almar Avenue was withdrawn in April, citing “basically a monetary issue”, according to Santa Cruz Local reporting. Out in Soquel, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that a transitional-housing project co-sponsored by Santa Cruz County stopped construction in April, with the private development partner citing rising costs.
Two projects have completed demolition, but don't plan to begin construction until at least 2026. They are the residential development at 111 Errett Circle (Changes 60), and the senior housing complex behind Lighthouse Field (Changes 56).
Many other proposed Santa Cruz development projects written about here (some already approved by the city) seem to be in wait-and-see mode while construction wraps up on several large projects, including La Bahia Hotel (Changes 35), Pacific Station North (Changes 22), 418-508 Front Street (Changes 9), and the UCSC/Ingalls Alley student-faculty residential project (Changes 119).
And finally, federal funding cuts have forced closing of the Santa Cruz Planned Parenthood clinic, creating a void in local healthcare, and another empty space on Pacific Avenue, while no new downtown large-business openings have been announced to fill any of the many other commercial vacancies that have happened in the last few years.
